Kitchen Cabinet Makeover (Updated)

This is the original shellac cabinets with copper hardware.
About 10 years ago we sanded down to the wood, painted white and added brass hardware. But they looked like a home DIY project.

We decided they needed something more.  So we added molding to give some character to the doors and drawers. We used the same brass hardware - but we painted every hinge and door handle black.

I wish I had all those pictures to add to this story but a few years ago I lost everything on my computer. This is pretty much all I have on that remodel.

So... fast forward to this week.

After 10 years the cabinets needed freshening up. I'm not one to go out and buy new. I love the challenge of making old look pretty again.

Once again we took off all the hardware, took the doors off and sanded. If you're not going to take the time to sand - then don't bother painting. We washed the inside with Dawn dishwashing liquid.

We debated on the hardware

As you can see from the picture the black is wearing off and you can see the original brass. The question was do we want to (again) sand and paint or do we buy new. One important thing to keep in mind is to keep the same hole diameter on the handles otherwise you will have to fill each hole and drill new holes. Make sure to measure from the center out (CC).
We decided this time around to buy new - but they were expensive.

These are $5.99 each not including the hinges. The hinges were $2.99.

The total would have been over $178.00 if we had purchased from a local box store.  I spent a few hours on the internet looking for a better deal.  I found ours on eBay - for $68.99 with free shipping - they sell single and in packs of 25.

  For the paint, we used Benjamin Moore white semi-gloss.

They also sell cabinet paint.
A small foam roller and a paintbrush. I highly recommend using Benjamin Moore - it's a thick paint so no drips and it lasts.

 The next project is the backsplash - I hate that fruit but want to keep the white tiles

We have new tiles.

This will go behind the oven/stove.

Here's the update! Now all I need is a new stove. I'm looking for a good deal.

This will cover the individual fruit tiles.

One more improvement we made -  that I love. We ordered 2 more door handles that are 12" long and placed them in front of the sink for towels.

This spruce up was pretty inexpensive. The paint was $35.00 the new hardware was $68.99. The tiles ran about (I forget exactly) 19.99 for a 4 pack. I guestimate another $75.00 - still Not bad!! Every penny I saved goes toward the new stove!

Another update.

New stove and vent hood

On a side note: While I was researching how to just take off the gloss and not sand for another project. I read several articles about "liquid sanding." There are several deglossing products out there.  Chemicals are not a go for me so I began looking for more natural ways. Some stated vinegar and water (which worked for a small table) but I would not use on kitchen cabinets. Simple green was also a top idea. But then I started to read about TSP - which I thought you could use for cleaning the grease off and you can - ONLY if you are going to repaint immediately. Well, that was a big whoopsy for me - I used TSP several times just to clean. Which now answers the question as to why we had a gunk like mess of paint around areas we touch often - like the handles. And now know why the original paint job didn't last.